A Genesis to Revelation Scripture Memory Guide by Ed Strauss

A Genesis to Revelation Scripture Memory Guide by Ed Strauss ISBN-13: 9781643522142 Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Barbour Books Released: December 1, 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
This powerful and practical guide book is packed with invaluable information on scripture memorization. Not only does it lay out vital, need-to-know scriptures for everyday life; it offers so much more, including an overview of all 66 books of the Bible, helpful hints and tips for retaining scripture, plus a comprehensive list of Bible memory verses in biblical order. You will come to understand and appreciate the value of scripture memorization as you learn that God’s Word offers comfort, inspiration, and guidance for everyday life situations.


My Review:
A Genesis to Revelation Scripture Memory Guide provides tips on scripture memorization and a collection of important Bible verses for memorization. He started off by explaining why it's important to memorize Scripture, and he gave nine tips about scripture memorization. He then gave an overview of the Bible, going book by book. He also talked about the different Bible translations. Most of the book was a collection of verses that he suggested for memorization along with commentary about the verse so you can better understand the intent and context. He provided verses about salvation, walking with God, the character of God, and things like worship, love, prayer, peace, suffering, and so forth. I had hoped for more information about how to better memorize the Bible verses, but this is a good resource if you want a collection of Bible verses to memorize.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Breaking Anxiety's Grip by Dr. Michelle Bengtson

Breaking Anxiety's Grip by Dr. Michelle Bengtson ISBN-13: 9780800735937 Paperback: 208 pages Publisher: Revell Released: September 17th 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
We worry about our children, jobs, homes, health, and finances. News and social media feed our fears. The solution isn't to rid ourselves of the sources of anxiety but to recognize that anxiety originates from a spiritual influence--and then use the weapons of power, love, and a sound mind to fight back and live in God's peace.

Sharing her own story of emerging from the battle with anxiety as well as the stories of others, Dr. Michelle Bengtson reminds you of your identity as a follower of Christ and of the peace he promises you in spite of everything. She provides tools to cope with the crushing emotional burden of anxiety now, and, more importantly, shows you how to reclaim God's peace as a way of life so that you can break anxiety's grip.


My Review:
Breaking Anxiety's Grip is about fear, anxiety, and worry from a Christian perspective. The author started off by defining the differences between these three, then she talked about their root cause: lack of trust in God. After that, she talked about Bible verses about why we should trust God and how to fight fear, anxiety, and worry. She suggested things like reading Scripture, memorizing verses, and saying them out loud when combating fear. She also talked about gratitude, worship, having a journal of answered prayer, and things like that. Each chapter included personal stories of people who battled fear and how they handle it now. At the end of each chapter, she had questions that help the reader apply what was learned in that chapter. She also included suggested verses to memorize and songs to listen to. Overall, I'd recommend this useful and encouraging book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

A Week in the Life of a Greco-Roman Woman by Holly Beers

A Week in the Life of a Greco-Roman Woman by Holly Beers ISBN-13: 9780830824847 Paperback: 176 pages Publisher: IVP Academic Released: December 3, 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
In first-century Ephesus, life is not easy for women. A young wife meets her daily struggles with equanimity and courage. She holds poverty and hunger at bay, fights to keep her child healthy and strong, and navigates the unpredictability of her husband's temperament. But into the midst of her daily fears and worries, a new hope appears: a teaching that challenges her society's most basic assumption. What is this new teaching? And what will it demand of her? In this novel, Holly Beers introduces us to the first-century setting where the apostle Paul first proclaimed the gospel. Illuminated by historical images and explanatory sidebars, this lively story not only shows us the rich tapestry of life in a thriving Greco-Roman city, it also foregrounds the interior life of one courageous woman--and the radical new freedom the gospel promised her.


My Review:
A Week in the Life of a Greco-Roman Woman is partly fiction and partly nonfiction and covered events from the point of view of a poor, married, pregnant woman in Ephesus who witnesses the events of Acts 18-20 and decides if she will follow Jesus (and no other gods). The story read like a documentary show that's primarily made up of fictional reenactments to illustrate the points. The purpose was to educate readers (in an entertaining way) about the cultural background of the first-century Greco-Roman church so that we can better understand the New Testament.

The book contained some nice black-and-white pictures of ruins and archaeological artifacts that illustrated information in the non-fiction sidebars or events in the story. A lot of educational material was worked into the story and additional information was provided in "sidebars" (which could take up whole pages) that were placed within the story.

In the fictional part, we basically followed the main character through her daily life, but with some significant encounters during that week and ending with a critical decision. I thought that the author did a good job with the educational points that she brought out. Overall, I'd recommend this book to people who aren't very familiar with the cultural background to the New Testament and who aren't interested in pure nonfiction books on the topic.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Flood of Noah: Legends & Lore of Survival by Bodie Hodge & Laura Welch

The Flood of Noah: Legends & Lore of Survival by Bodie Hodge (Editor), Laura Welch, Bill Looney (Illustrations) ISBN-13: 9780890518014 Hardcover: 24 pages Publisher: Master Books Released: June 4th 2014

Source: Bought from publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Cultural accounts of a wicked world, destroyed by a global flood, have been relegated to myth even the history of Noah's ark revealed in the Bible. Yet, in every corner of the world, you find these legends of a vastly destructive, worldwide flood event. Similarities include: mankind is almost wiped out, some animals are chose for survival, a craft or other escape mechanism is provided for survival, and water covers everything. What are these legends, and what intriguing clues do they contain? What do they reveal about their possible common origin? Exciting details presented with an interactive experience of flaps, mini-books, foldouts, and more!


My Review:
The Flood of Noah was mainly a collection of legends about a worldwide flood. The author explained why the biblical account is the most accurate account of this event and then pointed out the common features of the various legends about a worldwide flood. Much of the book provided the legends from various cultures from all over the world. These were accompanied by drawings of the events as described in the legend, though I think these were recent illustrations rather than traditional drawings. Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Inside Noah's Ark by Laura Welch

Inside Noah's Ark by Tim Chaffey & Laura Welch ISBN-13: 9780890519325 Hardcover: 64 pages Publisher: Master Books Released: December 1st 2016

Source: Bought from publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The Ark Encounter represents more than just a giant wooden ship it reveals important details about the viability of the Ark to function in and survive the forces of a global flood. Learn how ancient knowledge of bamboo pipes, cisterns, cage design, animal-powered machines, food storage, lighting, ventilation, and water systems reveal the ship was not just seaworthy, but also an actual working vessel.

The Ark Encounter will include over 130 exhibit bays within the ship that share Christian teaching and ship details, the designs of which have been done by a world-renowned designer whose work has also been showcased at theme parks like Universal Studios in Florida, and constructed with the highest quality.


My Review:
Inside Noah's Ark talked about what the scientists and researchers at the Ark Encounter think Noah's Ark would've been like. They explored various options for how the ark could've functioned within the specifications given in the Bible. They believe that mankind was technologically advanced, but they kept the technologies that they used as simple as possible. The book is highly illustrated with clear diagrams, illustrations, and pictures of the various features.

They covered topics like: what is an animal kind and how many animals would've been on the ark, how big those animals were, how much floor space was in the ark, how much food and water would have been needed, how water could be collected during the year they were on the ark, how would the food and water be stored and later provided to the animals, how would the cages be cleaned, how information and technology might have been preserved for after the Flood, how might the ventilation system and lighting work. Though a technical subject, this was written at a level that anyone should be able to understand, including teenagers. Overall, I'd highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Worship by A.W. Tozer

Worship by A.W. Tozer ISBN-13: 9780802416032 Paperback: 144 pages Publisher: Moody Publishers Released: August 1st 2017

Source: review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Few subjects invigorated A. W. Tozer like the topic of worship. He saw it—like the church has traditionally—as the sole reason for which creation exists. Worship: The Reason We Were Created features collections from the beloved spiritual writer on this important topic. The church's current worship is emaciated; its thoughts of God are too low. Here is a compilation to raise those thoughts high once more, and provoke the church to true, spiritual worship.


My Review:
Worship is a collection of 11 writings or sermons by the author. The chapters do not build on each other but were done at a separate times, so there was a lot of repetition. Much of each chapter was spent critiquing Christians for not focusing on worship or valuing it. He'd then talk about why we should value worship, but only a little time was spent on what worship is and how to do more of it. While much of this book does remain relevant today, it was originally written over 50 years ago and sometimes shows its age. I was disappointed that this book did not focus more on worship and God rather than on critiquing and condemning people.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan ISBN-13: 9781610458238 Audio Book Publisher: Christianaudio Released: November 1st 2013 (first published 1666)

Source: free audiobook.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
In Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, John Bunyan recounts his inner thoughts as he grappled with his faith. Bunyan takes us through the struggle of his own sin and how grace led him from a conflicted conscience to a powerful preacher of the gospel. Modern readers will find encouragement in Bunyan’s remedies for his own troubled conscience, as well as hope that God has used so greatly a man who struggled so deeply.


My Review:
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners is a short autobiography about John Bunyan's life, with the focus on how he came to Christ. The poor man was tormented by doubts about if he could be saved and later about if he had committed the unforgivable sin. He talked about his doubts, why he doubted, and what finally convinced him that those fears were incorrect. It was written like he hoped to help people with similar doubts to see the truths that he found. He only very briefly talked about how he became a preacher and was put in prison.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.